Arsenal had the chance to sign Mauro Icardi in the January transfer window, but they opted to turn down all but their top centre-forward targets.

The Athletic report that as Arsenal worked on a deal to offload Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, they were presented with the opportunity to explore a swap deal with Paris Saint-Germain for Mauro Icardi.

That possibility didn’t go anywhere, as Arsenal were clear they would only be pursuing their primary targets up front. Icardi clearly wasn’t one of them.

Instead, Arsenal were willing to stick with their existing options and revisit the situation in the summer.

28-year-old Icardi is struggling for form in France, scoring five goals in 25 appearances (13 starts) this season. He’s yet to score in 2022 and only two of his five goals came after September 20th.

Icardi was a very highly-regarded striker during his spell with Inter Milan, scoring 24 and 29 goals in consecutive league campaigns between 2016 and 2018.

But in the three full seasons since then he’s failed to better 12 league goals, and this season looks set to be the same story.

Arsenal offering a permanent deal to an out-of-form 28-year-old in the hope he’ll turn it around and become the player he was once touted to be is the kind of business most fans would probably want to see them avoid.

On the other hand, the decision was a bold one, as it left Arsenal without any centre-forward signings at all.

Alexandre Lacazette needs to find his goalscoring touch if a top-four finish is going to remain realistic.